"Uncle, uncle, we want to ride in the car too."
When the two nephews saw Lu Liang getting ready to leave, they hurriedly ran out again. With one stern look from Lu Ya, she barked, "Get back!"
Like mice who'd seen a cat, the two children dashed back into the house without looking back, prompting Lu Liang to clap his hands in admiration, "My sister, as domineering as ever."
It was rare for Lu Ya not to get angry, and from the depths of her eyes, a long-absent tenderness erged, "Liang, I feel like you've changed a lot lately."
Her brother had always been a lively boy, but since getting married, he gradually beca more silent.
Although the siblings had each started their own families and in recent years only saw each other once a year, she could feel the huge pressure his wife and family were putting on Lu Liang.
She couldn't offer much help, but now that Lu Liang had reverted to that big boy he once was, Lu Ya was very pleased.
"Sis, please get in the car."
Lu Liang went around the car, emulating the hotel butler Tan Tao, and opened the passenger door with gentlemanly flair.
"Show-off," Lu Ya teased with a smile.
The deep rumble of the engine sprang to life, and the yellow Lamborghini Urus carried the siblings towards their ho.
The nearby neighbors ca out to look, and upon seeing Lu Ya getting into the car, soone couldn't help but ask, "Who's that? Why is our sister-in-law getting into the car with him?"
Soone else took over the conversation, "That looks like Lu Ya's younger brother, right? The one who works in Modu."
"Isn't that car a 'wild ox' SUV? Looks like it's worth millions. Luo, hasn't your brother-in-law struck it rich?"
Luo Haitong, annoyed, said, "If soone else gets rich, that's their business. Why are all of you fussing over it?"
"Not true, when one becos successful, it lifts up their whole family. It looks like you've got a share of the good fortune."
Luo Haitong glared at the speaker and reluctantly handed out cigarettes, then gestured everyone away, "Go on, get back to what you were doing."
...
Elsewhere, Lu Liang was driving back on the country road towards the village.
Lu Ya asked him how much the car cost; Lu Liang vaguely replied it should be in the hundreds of thousands, then got smacked again.
Lu Ya picked up her phone, indignantly saying, "Do you think I'm a bumpkin? A car worth over three million, and you tell it's just a few hundred thousand?"
She couldn't help but worry, having bought such an expensive car in just a few months, could the money have co from a legitimate source?
Lu Ya asked very seriously, "If sothing happens one day, and if you can run, then run fast. I'll take care of mom and dad at ho."
Lu Liang suddenly laughed, "Sis, don't worry, the money is absolutely legit. Otherwise, how dare I start a company?"
"Heh, Wu Laoer from the village next door said the sa thing once, but when he was caught, people found out he was selling fake alcohol."
"You think too much; I'd rather not chat with you."
Lu Liang gave a wry smile, knowing there weren't many who could completely overbear him. Lu Ya was definitely one of them.
After all, when they were kids, their parents were busy, and boys often develop later than girls of the sa age.
He owed his successful growth entirely to his sister's grace of not 'killing' him.
Suddenly, Lu Ya looked towards the front and said softly, "Don't just think of yourself now that you have money. Think of mom and dad too."
Up ahead was their ho village, Luhe Village, and in Jiangsu and Zhejiang, keeping up with the Joneses was common, with every family building three- or four-story Western-style houses.
Even if they didn't have the money, they would borrow it just to build, but not far away stood an old, one-and-a-half-story bungalow sandwiched between the Western-style houses, looking very peculiar.
"I will," Lu Liang nodded emphatically.
That bungalow was the ho of the siblings, now 32 years old.
In the past, there had been thoughts of demolishing and rebuilding, but Lu Liang stayed in Modu and planned to settle down there.
The parents supported his decision and helped with the down paynt, so naturally, there was no money left to revamp the old house.
At eight o'clock on a sumr evening,
It was one of the busiest tis at the village's gossip station.
Not far from their house by the river, the riverside gazebo was one of the main spots for exchanging news.
A yellow, very expensive-looking SUV sped past, imdiately sparking a heated discussion among the villagers.
"Is that car a Jinbei?"
"That's not a hamr-type Jinbei; you can tell a Jinbei just from the na. That emblem is a Taurus."
"Taurus? How does it compare to a rcedes or a BMW?"
"Probably not as good, right?"
"No way, it looks even pricier than Feng Chun's 3-series BMW."
"Nonsense, a BMW 3-series is only in the three hundreds of thousands; this one must be close to 400,000."
A young man who knew his stuff just couldn't bear to listen anymore.
He stared at the car, saliva almost dripping from his mouth.
A Lamborghini Huracán, the dream car of many n.
"4 million? That's got to be a bluff."
"Why is that car parked at the Tiechui's house?"
"Holy shit, is that Tiechui's eldest daughter? And his youngest son?"
The villagers wanted to take a closer look and gradually gathered around.
"Third Uncle, Uncle Chun... you're out enjoying the cooler evening air."
Lu Liang greeted a few of the elderly he knew, then started handing out cigarettes to everyone regardless of whether he knew them or not.
"Soft pack? Tiechui has been making good money lately."
Lu Liang's father was nad Lu Jiancheng, but hardly anyone in the village called him by his full na, referring to him instead as Lu Tiechui.
This nickna seed to originate from when he was young and fought people with a hamr, earning his reputation from a single battle, a na that stuck for forty or fifty years.
Lu Liang, his son, was also called 'Little Tiechui'.
It wasn't mockery; it was just that the elders couldn't rember the young people's nas, only their parents', so they simply attached 'Little' to the parent's nickna.
"Just doing a little business." Lu Liang opened the trunk and handed out two packs of soft packs to two elderly family acquaintances.
He then said, "Third Uncle, Uncle Chun, you continue to enjoy the evening, my sister and I will head inside now."
The two elders, happy with their cigarettes, smiled broadly and told the crowd, "Alright, everyone disperse now."
Uncle Chun then said to Lu Liang, "Little Tiechui, co over to Uncle Chun's for tea when you have ti."
"Sure thing."
Lu Liang and Lu Ya, laden with large and small bags, pushed open the door and went inside.
In the countryside, as long as soone is at ho, doors are generally left unlocked, except at night when people go to sleep.
Their parents were inside watching TV, so loud that they hadn't heard any noise from outside.
Seeing the siblings, their parents froze in surprise, "Why have you both returned?"
The father reacted first, hurriedly closed the door, not wanting to air out dirty laundry and completely oblivious to the car parked outside.
The mother was still asking, "Where's Wenjing?"
Lu Liang paused for a mont, then rehashed the conversation he had with his sister, skipping over the part about selling the house to make a fortune.
After all, their mother had slightly high blood pressure, and it was best to let her absorb one thing at a ti before revealing another.
Mother's face turned red with anger, "How could she get divorced without even saying anything, keeping it from ?"
Seeing the heightened emotions, Lu Ya stepped forward to calm her down, "Mom, didn't you say that Wenjing has beco lazier ever since she went to Modu with brother? It's probably for the best that Liang and she got divorced."
Plus, look at my brother, he's so handso, he won't have trouble finding another wife, divorced n are even more desirable now."
Lu Ya knew how to handle her mom, who was imdiately distracted, "Desirable my foot, do you know how much money your brother spent on his wedding? Who would marry him now without any money?"
Lu Ya smiled and mused, "But have you ever considered that brother might beco rich? By then, a whole line of girls will be queuing up to be your daughters-in-law."
"Don't just think about getting rich at every turn. I just wish for you all to live in peace and stability," the mother advised earnestly.
"Looks like it won't be peaceful for now," Lu Ya said with a teasing and relaxed tone, nodding towards the small security monitor by the TV.
She laughed and said, "Haven't you noticed that Liang drove here in his car?"
"When did he buy a car?"
Not just the mother, but the father was taken aback as well, he knew about Lu Liang's divorce, but had no idea about the car purchase.
"Co clean and you may be treated leniently, resist and you'll be dealt with severely."
Lu Ya, with a stern face, suddenly stood in solidarity with her parents, but still covertly flashed an OK sign to Lu Liang.
The biggest bombshell had already been diffused by her, now as long as they ca clean, they would be handled more leniently.
After all, the parents reacted so strongly to the divorce, not because they cherished the union, but out of concern their child might end up alone forever.
But if there's money, that changes everything.
"Did you sell your house and start a company?" The parents wore expressions just like Lu Ya's a mont ago.
They shared Lu Ya's concern, worried about the legitimacy of the funds, that any day now they might end up eating "royal grain" (being imprisoned).
Lu Liang had to explain for a long ti and eventually had no choice but to pull up the corporate information, "Look, Tianxing Investnt, I'm the legal person, and also the shareholder, and the registered paid-up capital is 6 million."
"If my money was dirty, how would I dare to openly run a company? That would be like walking straight into a trap."
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